The apartment was empty as it had been the majority of the day. Dave and Bro were out of the house for their annual strife battle on the roof and then pizza right after. Cal was left seated on the couch as Bro didn't want to bring him this time; the strife battles of become more intense now that Dave is older and more skilled with a sword. Bro feared Lil' Cal would get hurt one of these times.
Silence filled the room. Cal's eyes blinked quickly and he lifted his head, glancing around briefly to make sure that no one was around to witness him. It wasn't often that he would get to come alive like this but when he could he'd take full advantage of it.
He hopped off of the couch, staggering a little as his legs had yet to fully awake. Cal stretched for a moment to get feeling into his limbs before proceeding to skip into Dave's room. Stopping in front of Dave's desk, Cal pulled a pin out from beneath his hat and, using it as a key, unlocked the bottom left drawer. Dave had always assumed that drawer was just for looks because he could never get it open. Yet in reality this was always where Cal chose to keep his toys for when he had the chance to be home alone.
The animated puppet extracted two smaller marionettes, one taking on the image of Dave and the other of Bro from when he was younger. Cal smiled to himself and adjusted Bro's shades.
"Let's play a game heeheehoohoo," He giggled to himself, seating the two smaller puppets side by side in front of him while he himself took a seat on the floor. "We're gunna reenact the strife battle I wasn't included in."
Lil' Cal made the puppets nod their heads. He lifted them into the air then and forced their plush bodies to clatter against each other while he made soft sounds resembling swords coming in contact with each other. This continued for a few minutes until the Bro marionette stood over the Dave marionette victoriously.
"Heehee haahaa hoohoo Sorry, Dave, but of course Bro won. Bro always wins, haahaa. Cause Bro is the best there is," He murmured and shifted his eyes to look at the clock. The Striders would be home soon.
With slight sadness in his eyes, Cal put away his marionettes and closed the drawer; locked it with his little pin and placed the pin back under his hat. He sauntered over to Dave's bed and climbed onto it, laying down just as he released his last breath of the day; all life fading from his eyes as he made himself too tired to remain animated any longer.
The front door swings open and two stoic striders enter the apartment, giving each other one final nod before retreating to their separate rooms. As Dave entered his room he frozen, exhaling a gentle sigh before he retrieved Lil' Cal and strode over to Bro's room.
He knocked on the door and waited a minute before grasping the knob and letting himself in. This was customary and just how they've always done things here. A small warning of their entry and then just coming in anyway. "Hey Bro I found this little guy in my room. Could've sworn you left him on the couch but hey its cool." Dave set Cal down on Bro's turntables before venturing towards his room again.